Microsoft

Software Development Engineer In Test (SDET) Interview Experience - Bellevue, Washington

May 1, 2008

Positive ExperienceGot Offer

Process

I had an initial phone screen where I was asked about my work experience and why I wanted to work at MS.

Then, I had an on-site interview where I met five different people.

Mostly, I was asked:

Basic coding questions, such as how to reverse a string and find bugs in a code snippet.
Some behavioral questions.

Questions

How to rotate strings in a multi-dimensional matrix.

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Interview Statistics

The following metrics were computed from 7 interview experiences for the Microsoft Software Development Engineer In Test (SDET) role in Bellevue, Washington.

Success Rate

43%

Pass Rate

Microsoft's interview process for their Software Development Engineer In Test (SDET) roles in Bellevue, Washington is fairly selective, failing a large portion of engineers who go through it.

Experience Rating

Positive86%

Neutral14%

Negative0%

Candidates reported having very good feelings for Microsoft's Software Development Engineer In Test (SDET) interview process in Bellevue, Washington.

Microsoft Work Experiences

A run-of-the-mill workplace

Software Development Engineer In Test (SDET) • Current Employee

Bellevue, Washington, United States

December 19, 2012

Pros: A vast company and a solid workplace to start off with before you move to greener pastures. It was a great company once.

Cons: It is only a shadow of its former self. The engineering processes have matured, and the rot of excessive management makes it a living hell.

A run-of-the-mill workplace

Software Development Engineer In Test (SDET) • Current Employee

Bellevue, Washington, United States

December 19, 2012

Pros: A vast company and a solid workplace to start off with before you move to greener pastures. It was a great company once.

Cons: It is only a shadow of its former self. The engineering processes have matured, and the rot of excessive management makes it a living hell.

I was there during the pandemic

Software Development Engineer In Test (SDET) • Former Employee

Bellevue, Washington, United States

Pros: I worked on one of the Surface teams. There were a lot of perks, like cheap lunches on campus, that disappeared with the pandemic, but I expect they will come back over time. I felt safe working there even during the pandemic, and my managers were very responsive when I needed help.

Cons: Microsoft is a huge company, so there is a lot of variance. Some of the other teams I had to liaise with weren't as great as my team. It also means that any requests I had that affected more than just my team didn't get much traction if I was the only one asking.

I was there during the pandemic

Software Development Engineer In Test (SDET) • Former Employee

Bellevue, Washington, United States

Pros: I worked on one of the Surface teams. There were a lot of perks, like cheap lunches on campus, that disappeared with the pandemic, but I expect they will come back over time. I felt safe working there even during the pandemic, and my managers were very responsive when I needed help.

Cons: Microsoft is a huge company, so there is a lot of variance. Some of the other teams I had to liaise with weren't as great as my team. It also means that any requests I had that affected more than just my team didn't get much traction if I was the only one asking.

Managers make or break the MSFTE experience. Politics matter more than output

Software Development Engineer In Test (SDET) • Current Employee

Bellevue, Washington, United States

September 28, 2011

Pros: New base salaries around 100k. New SDET focus on coding. Opportunity to write our own tools. Finally, a team that pushes for work/life balance. New manager is awesome and further shows that within Microsoft, you can have great and horrible experiences depending on who you report to. Some of the top engineers in the world work here.

Cons: Was stuck with a manager for several years that stagnated my growth. Commonsense dies the further you go up the management chain. 2-4th tier managers do not think about the bottom line and manage information up. We're too Top Down and stifle IC innovation. Too much email and at all hours. Too little in-person communication. A lot of push on opinions without open-mindedness to change or alternative options. "What my manager says, I do."

Managers make or break the MSFTE experience. Politics matter more than output

Software Development Engineer In Test (SDET) • Current Employee

Bellevue, Washington, United States

September 28, 2011

Pros: New base salaries around 100k. New SDET focus on coding. Opportunity to write our own tools. Finally, a team that pushes for work/life balance. New manager is awesome and further shows that within Microsoft, you can have great and horrible experiences depending on who you report to. Some of the top engineers in the world work here.

Cons: Was stuck with a manager for several years that stagnated my growth. Commonsense dies the further you go up the management chain. 2-4th tier managers do not think about the bottom line and manage information up. We're too Top Down and stifle IC innovation. Too much email and at all hours. Too little in-person communication. A lot of push on opinions without open-mindedness to change or alternative options. "What my manager says, I do."

A run-of-the-mill workplace

Software Development Engineer In Test (SDET) • Current Employee

Bellevue, Washington, United States

December 19, 2012

Pros: A vast company and a solid workplace to start off with before you move to greener pastures. It was a great company once.

Cons: It is only a shadow of its former self. The engineering processes have matured, and the rot of excessive management makes it a living hell.

1.0
A run-of-the-mill workplace
Software Development Engineer In Test (SDET) • Current Employee
Bellevue, Washington, United States
December 19, 2012
Pros: A vast company and a solid workplace to start off with before you move to greener pastures. It was a great company once.
Cons: It is only a shadow of its former self. The engineering processes have matured, and the rot of excessive management makes it a living hell.

I was there during the pandemic

Software Development Engineer In Test (SDET) • Former Employee

Bellevue, Washington, United States

Pros: I worked on one of the Surface teams. There were a lot of perks, like cheap lunches on campus, that disappeared with the pandemic, but I expect they will come back over time. I felt safe working there even during the pandemic, and my managers were very responsive when I needed help.

Cons: Microsoft is a huge company, so there is a lot of variance. Some of the other teams I had to liaise with weren't as great as my team. It also means that any requests I had that affected more than just my team didn't get much traction if I was the only one asking.

4.0
I was there during the pandemic
Software Development Engineer In Test (SDET) • Former Employee
Bellevue, Washington, United States
June 9, 2021
Pros: I worked on one of the Surface teams. There were a lot of perks, like cheap lunches on campus, that disappeared with the pandemic, but I expect they will come back over time. I felt safe working there even during the pandemic, and my managers were very responsive when I needed help.
Cons: Microsoft is a huge company, so there is a lot of variance. Some of the other teams I had to liaise with weren't as great as my team. It also means that any requests I had that affected more than just my team didn't get much traction if I was the only one asking.

Managers make or break the MSFTE experience. Politics matter more than output

Software Development Engineer In Test (SDET) • Current Employee

Bellevue, Washington, United States

September 28, 2011

Pros: New base salaries around 100k. New SDET focus on coding. Opportunity to write our own tools. Finally, a team that pushes for work/life balance. New manager is awesome and further shows that within Microsoft, you can have great and horrible experiences depending on who you report to. Some of the top engineers in the world work here.

Cons: Was stuck with a manager for several years that stagnated my growth. Commonsense dies the further you go up the management chain. 2-4th tier managers do not think about the bottom line and manage information up. We're too Top Down and stifle IC innovation. Too much email and at all hours. Too little in-person communication. A lot of push on opinions without open-mindedness to change or alternative options. "What my manager says, I do."

4.0
Managers make or break the MSFTE experience. Politics matter more than output
Software Development Engineer In Test (SDET) • Current Employee
Bellevue, Washington, United States
September 28, 2011
Pros: New base salaries around 100k. New SDET focus on coding. Opportunity to write our own tools. Finally, a team that pushes for work/life balance. New manager is awesome and further shows that within Microsoft, you can have great and horrible experiences depending on who you report to. Some of the top engineers in the world work here.
Cons: Was stuck with a manager for several years that stagnated my growth. Commonsense dies the further you go up the management chain. 2-4th tier managers do not think about the bottom line and manage information up. We're too Top Down and stifle IC innovation. Too much email and at all hours. Too little in-person communication. A lot of push on opinions without open-mindedness to change or alternative options. "What my manager says, I do."

Microsoft Interview Questions

Minimum Edge Reversals So Every Node Is Reachable

You're given a directed graph. Determine the minimum number of edges you need to reverse so that every node becomes reachable from node 0.

GraphsDynamic Programming

Two Sum

Find two numbers in a given array that add up to a specific target value, and return their indices. Essentially, you need to efficiently locate the pair that satisfies the sum requirement.

Valid Word

Determine if a given word is considered valid based on a specific set of rules or constraints. The goal is to check if the input string adheres to the specified validation criteria.

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